State v. Blackwell

MARTIN, Justice.

In Washington v. Recuenco, 548 U.S.-, 165 L. Ed. 2d 466 (2006), the United States Supreme Court concluded that error under Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296 (2004), was subject to federal harmless error analysis. We therefore review the Blakely violation which occurred at defendant’s second trial for harmlessness. We also address defendant’s argument that federal Blakely error violates the Constitution of North Carolina (the State Constitution). We conclude that the trial court’s finding of an aggravating factor at defendant’s second trial was harmless beyond a reasonable…